spacecrime

That is exactly the opposite of what BB has been doing since he had blocking TE Rutledge and pass catching TE Wiggins.

He has gone out of his way to ensure that every TE we have can both block and catch.

This keeps the opposing defenses honest.

To not use Graham as a pass catcher would be to signal to teh defenses that it will either be a running play or if a pass, that tehy can double Watkins because Graham will not be a receive.

Keegs

i'm not a huge fan of the talk about Watson playing WR. I don't want this.
He's far more dangerous as a tight end.

I also love it how he played big against the Jags when we needed him too and how he never gave up against Denver, outrunning all players on our team. That really says alot about his talent, what kind of player he is, and whether he is capable of "stepping it up" like brady is when the game matters.

The only thing that scares me about him is the few fumbles i saw scared the crap out of me. I guess thats what you can expect when you set a beast like that loose, players will be going for the ball.

I am really happy we drafted Mills and Thomas. You can never have enough Tight ends. Always been one of my favorite positions and Ben Coates was always my favorite offensive player growing up. If one of our 2 TE picks shows up and plays, our offense is set in my opinion.

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JoeSixPat

I wouldn't worry about this. Even if some fans get confused about the distinction between the positions of TE and WR, BB will not be.

While we all saw a nice burst of speed from Watson against Denver to try to save a TD, somehow its been assumed that a 253lb guy has as much speed and endurance to stretch the field like a WR for the full extent of a game (not to mention a season.)

Things have to be VERY bad among our WR corps for BB to be turning to Watson as a WR.

I still hope he can catch a ton of passes in the 5-10 yard range with 5-10 yards after the catch giving Brady a Ben Coates like option (hopefully better than Ben Coates, who really only averaged about 10 yrds per reception) - but that wouldn't make Watson a WR any more than Ben Coates catching 96 passes in '94 was a WR.

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BelichickFan

Yeah, it's not non issue. Watson may well be the #2 receiver (defined as number of catches and yards) but it'll be from the TE position. Just like when Coates was the #2 receiver behind Glenn but Jefferson was the #2 WR.

5 Rings for Brady!!

14th Dragon: I read an interview where Graham said that he had not heard from the Pats regarding an extension and he understood that that was the 'business side of things' but he didn't want to leave the Pats in that interview.

Have you heard anything more concrete about him wanting to go elsewhere for more money or expanded role, or are you referring to the same story I am? It was in the Globe or Herald not too long ago.

I'm Ron Borges?

He said he was the best blocking tight end. You think he's a better blocker than Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Matt Light and Stephen Neal? I would have to disagree but then again, you have Tivo.

By the way, it's almost impossible to get a good look at blocking by just watching games on TV, even if you do have Tivo. The game angles only show the O-line for a second or two. Your opinion would actually hold more water if you were at the games live and were watching the O-line the whole time but if you think Graham is the best blocker on the Patriots, when he rarely blocks people one-on-one, you are crazy. He usually helps the left tackle double team guys like Freeney but according to you, the Pats should just use him to block Freeney one-on-one all the time instead. That makes no sense. Daniel Graham is a good blocker but he can't play LT. In other words, he's a good blocking tight end so I'm not sure where you are arguing what the author said unless you actually think he really is a better blocker than the entire Patriots offensive line. If that's the case, I think you need to fix the rewind button on your remote control.

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5 Rings for Brady!!

I also heard that O-Linemen acknowledge that Graham blocks as good as they do. However, it is correct that a TE might not look nearly as good if he were playing the Left Tackle position. Graham probably just has more energy on a play by play basis because he is more of an assist-blocker than a full time blocker.

I'm Ron Borges?

I'm not doubting that the O-linemen said that, Graham is a great blocker but if Graham was that dominant of a blocker like Box is suggesting, you would have to think BB might have converted him to OT like the Broncos did with Matt Lepsis. Having a great OT is a million times more important than having a good blocking tight end. I am not doubting that Gragam is a great blocker and I don't think the guy who wrote that article is either. But to say that Graham is the best blocker on the team over some pretty good linemen is stretching it in my opinion. But hey, you never know, maybe BB doesn't have Tivo.

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arrellbee

Actually, no. In the last playoff game with the Colts, Matt Light blocked Freeney one-on-one and completely successfully the ENTIRE game except for two plays (despite what the media hyped). Ironically those two double team plays were the only ones where Freeney got thru to pressure Brady. One double team was Light and Andruzzi and Andruzzi let him roll off around him. The other double was, interestingly enough, a two TE block with one TE coming across in motion - that didn't work either.

(As a side note, on a few plays Freeney switched from right DE position to left DE position but was blocked one-on-one without any problem there also.)

5 Rings for Brady!!

I have watched that game a bunch of times, and think that Freeney got tons of pressure on Brady, not just two plays. I think Light is pretty average, although he plays a very tough position, for sure.